Watchdog raises concerns over thousands of foreign criminals and illegal immigrants still in UK

John Vine, the immigration watchdog, reveals up to 6,500 cases where emergency
travel documents obtained but not used

Up to 6,500 foreign criminals and illegal immigrants are still in the UK despite the Home Office having secured travel documents for their removal – with some cases dating back 12 years.

Almost half are still in this country because casework is still ongoing while up to one in four have disappeared, according to the borders and immigration watchdog.

John Vine, the chief inspector of borders, said there were some 6,460 cases where emergency travels documents had been obtained but still not used, with the oldest dating back to 2001.

The documents are secured from foreign embassies when an illegal immigrant or foreign criminal does not have a passport or any other form of travel document, and are designed to ease their removal.

But in a sample of 75 cases, Mr Vine found 43 per cent still had outstanding casework to be done, 24 per cent were no longer in contact with the Home Office and 18 per cent had legal barriers to their removal.